Editorial: Turning our eye to Mexico's violent drug trade

Monday

Mar 30, 2009 at 12:01 AMMar 30, 2009 at 12:44 PM

Violence associated with the drug trade flowing into the United States from Mexico has spiked on both sides of the border, creating widespread concern over the many law-abiding citizens of both countries who are caught in the crossfire.

Violence associated with the drug trade flowing into the United States from Mexico has spiked on both sides of the border, creating widespread concern over the many law-abiding citizens of both countries who are caught in the crossfire.

The early response from the Obama administration - increasing border security and finding new methods to cut off the flow of weapons and drugs - has been commendably swift, as have Mexican efforts to crack down on the cartels that have often operated with impunity south of the border. But just as the U.S. must continue to find ways to contain this violence, which in particular plagues the border states of Texas and Arizona, we must simultaneously push and help Mexico, within reason, to get a handle on its drug trade.

Indeed, the U.S. Department of Justice has called Mexican drug gangs the "biggest organized crime threat to the U.S.," while some foreign policy experts worry that their government could be toppled or gradually turn into a "narco-state." The country already produces 10,000 metric tons of marijuana annually, while 90 percent of all cocaine sold on our streets, plus a majority of America's meth, flows through there. Mexico is ground zero for the war on drugs. It is a pressing national security issue.

True, Mexico's drug trade has long been a problem for America. And true, Mexico has a history of corrupt, or frightened, or just plain ineffective local police who have been unwilling or unable to do much to halt the increasing flow of drugs to America. But Mexican President Felipe Calderon has lately drawn a line in the sand, using the nation's armed forces to take the fight to the drug lords.

There are hints that the Mexican military putting the squeeze on its cartels has actually spurred the new violence. Between that and the continued anti-drug smuggling push in America, the "easy" supply routes have been closed. As the noose gradually closes around the cartels - a process far from complete - they're having to find new routes and methods to get drugs to their legion of customers in the U.S. They're also beginning to war amongst themselves over territory and control. That violence saw more than 6,600 killed in drug-related violence last year in Mexico, double the number from 2007.

Besides the insatiable demand for illegal drugs in the U.S., why does Mexico's fighting matter to us? That violence has crossed the border, with an increase in kidnappings, home invasions and other crimes in the border states. And both Mexican authorities and our Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives say that most of the weapons these cartels are using to attack their rivals and innocent bystanders are coming from America, smuggled south by gun-runners here. Of the 20,000-plus weapons seized last year from drug lords in Mexico, 90 percent of them are believed to have originated in the United States.

That's where new American efforts come in, on top of the $1.4 billion President Bush secured before leaving office to give Mexican forces better equipment and training in drug interdiction. The Obama administration recently announced it was going to put about 500 more federal agents on the border, along with drug sniffing dogs and mobile X-ray units to scan vehicles and rail cargo at border crossings. Meanwhile, the FBI is focused on gathering more intelligence on the drug syndicates to share with border patrols here and anti-drug efforts there.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano - a former Arizona governor very much in touch with these problems - is nonetheless resisting a push by Congress to add more money to the fight. As some senators did at a hearing this week, we'd respectfully suggest that more money and manpower may eventually be needed to plug a border that is entirely too porous for comfort.

But this is not yet the time, as some border governors have suggested, to deploy the National Guard and make this a military fight on our side. We have our hands full at the moment. Let's see what Mexico can accomplish first, while keeping an eye on what's happening there.

Peoria Journal Star

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